Turbine engines in commercial aircraft have routine maintenance schedules to reduce downtime of the engines and systems (e.g., vehicles) that rely on continued operation of the engines. Different components and features of the engine react differently to engine wear and use over time, depending on factors such as the extent of use and environmental conditions to which the engine is exposed.
A thermal barrier coating may be used in the turbine engine to protect the engine from heat within the engine. Over time, thermal barrier coatings degrade as a result of spallation and other damage, such as exposure to exhaust heat wearing down the coatings. As the thermal barriers degrade, the turbines are more susceptible to failures and the coatings may need to be restored or replaced. Typically, a thermal barrier coating is restored at regularly scheduled maintenance intervals by disassembling the turbine engine so that a restorative thermal barrier coating can be applied.
This maintenance of the engine results in significant down time and expense. The thermal barrier coating may not wear and degrade in the same manner for each individual aircraft or system that includes an engine with a thermal barrier coating. Thus, a thermal barrier coating may need to be restored at intervals that do not coincide with the regularly scheduled maintenance schedule of the engine or aircraft. The end result is either reduced engine performance resulting from a coating in use that needs to be restored, or unnecessary down time spent restoring a coating that does not need to be restored.
Atomizing spray devices are utilized in many different applications to apply coatings onto machinery such as engines, such as thermal barrier coatings. Typically, the thermal barrier coating is restored by disassembly of the turbine engine so that a restorative thermal barrier coating can be applied. This is problematic where the engine is being utilized as the amount of downtime required for disassembly greatly impacts costs and efficiencies of operating the engine (or systems that rely on operation of the engine).